Police, Minister—Statements

Talking of suits, yes, the Government has delivered more police, and we look at the police in terms of the national area, rather than simply one district over another. The Commissioner of Police fully explained the matter of blue suits to that member this morning.

Considering that total crime in the Waikato district has increased by 9.1 percent and violent crime has increased by 11.8 percent under her Government, how safe should the people there feel, knowing that she intends stripping 18 police officers from that district by the end of 2011?

Calder Dr Cam Calder Link to this

Of course, I have no intention of stripping any police officers from any area, but I can say to the member that, despite all his best efforts, public confidence in the police has risen to the highest levels yet: 79 percent of people say that they are satisfied or very satisfied with the overall performance of the police, in 80 percent of cases the service met or exceeded expectations, and 88 percent of people say that they were treated fairly in their dealings with the police. Despite what that member says, people can feel safe under a National Government.

Does she stand by her statement that this Government is serious about taking away the profits of crime and putting gangs out of business?

Yes. I am very pleased to advise the House that the police have restrained $50 million of assets since the Government passed legislation last year to make it easier for the police to crack down on illegal gang profits. Since December 2009, 94 cases have been referred to the new asset recovery unit, with most relating to either cannabis or methamphetamine offending. From those cases, 61 specific assets have been identified for potential confiscation, with the biggest category being cash and bank accounts worth $12 million, followed by $10 million of residential property. The first actual forfeiture order under the new legislation was for $55,000 worth of motorcycles owned by the Killer Beez gang.

I seek leave to table a graph produced by the police that shows the rise in the value of assets seized since 2005.

Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

How satisfied should Wellington people feel that Counties-Manukau is receiving 257 new police officers in the same period of time that Wellington will lose 46 police officers, even though violent crime is increasing here in Wellington and the Minister claims that it is rapidly decreasing in Counties-Manukau?

Well, the people of Wellington should feel very satisfied that, under this Government, we will not be taking officers out of Wellington to go and help out Counties-Manukau every time there is a murder, which is what had to happen under Operation Cavalry, when the previous Government was in power.

Mr Speaker, this document has been tabled before a select committee—just so you know. I seek leave to table questions 1 and 2 from the Vote Police report Police Response to 2010/11 Estimates: Examination of Vote Police: Supplementary Written Questions, where it details the cuts—

This is information to be—

It is not readily available. It was tabled just this morning.

But it will be readily available. There is a movement to table documentation that is made available to select committees. It will be readily available to members of the House. I think that we should not be wasting time seeking leave to table that sort of documentation, because it will be readily available to all members. It does not need to be tabled.

Hon Gerry Brownlee Link to this

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I simply make the point that you have deemed that when a document is not readily available at the time of tabling—and I think you allowed one of our colleagues to table a media statement that had been released but was not readily available as it had not been circulated—it is fine to seek to do so. All I ask is that you be consistent, please.

I do not think we should mix up what are effectively reports to select committees, or papers that belong to a select committee, with the example given, which was a newspaper article from a foreign print publication. In this case I think we have let one go through before, and should not have. If a committee has not released all of the matters that pertain to a particular report of that committee, it is a circumvention of the Standing Orders and of the conventions of Parliament to come in here and seek leave to table it through different means. I can indicate that we will object to this leave, should it be sought.

I sought advice from the clerk of the Law and Order Committee before I came into the House as to whether this document had been tabled and was available for public release. It is as I have said. Secondly, I make the point again that it is not readily available to members at this point because it has not been circulated. I simply ask for a consistent ruling.